Madeline Courtney is an eighteen year old writer. She dreams of saving up enough money to move away to Seattle and never look back. She has always been one to follow her dreams, despite the fact that many people tell her it's impossible. Abhorrence and Affection is her first regency romance novel.
Welcome, Madeline. First off, tell me how you got started writing.
I've been writing for as long as I can remember. Even when I was in kindergarten I would make picture books. I really started getting into it, and thinking of it as a career path, in the seventh grade when I wrote a science fiction novel with a friend. Since then I haven't stopped and never plan to stop writing.
Let's help the readers get to know you a little. What hobbies, interests, or goals do you have in addition to being a writer?
I love to read, obviously. I really love hanging out with my younger cousins. I've been doing a lot of that this summer... My biggest goal is to somehow make enough money to move to Seattle Washington... hopefully by the summer of 2017. You can read more on that subject on my blog.
For those who may not be familiar with the term, can you define "regency romance" for us?
Regency romance is a romance that takes place in the regency period--1811 to 1820. It can also be called a Historical Romance, but saying Regency is more specific on the time period.
Tell us about your new novel, Abhorrence and Affection.
Soo... Abhorrence and Affection is about a spoiled woman forced to marry her childhood rival--the one man who doesn't put up with her bratty attitude. This, of course, leads to a bit of conflict between the two. It sort of shows that life doesn't always turn out the way you expect it, but sometimes that's okay. It is inspired by the work of Jane Austen and is, by far, my best project.
Was it difficult to write about a time period in which you have never lived?
Honestly, I find it ten times easier to write in this time period, for some reason. I always have difficulty writing projects that take place in modern times. I think it's because everything was so much simpler back then. The only issue I might have is the way they spoke. I try to keep my Regency projects pretty authentic and sometimes that confuses people, so I have to clean up the mess and make it understandable for the modern readers. (A big THANK YOU, YOU ARE THE BEST to my main Beta Reader, Osiris Arteaga, for helping me with this and giving me honest feedback).
What historical research did you do in the course of writing this book?
Mainly my research has been on clothes and what would be considered "proper" lady's etiquette... My character, Beth, is more outlandish and loud, really the opposite of what a charming woman would be back then. If I had to describe her, I'd say she was a modern woman in the late 1700s. So, I really did research on how she SHOULDN'T behave.
What route are you taking to publish your book?
I'll be self-publishing. I plan to make it available as an eBook and allow people to buy physical copies on Amazon.
Will the book be available on other websites as well, or just Amazon?
Amazon and Kindle... I'm debating on putting the project up on Wattpad and other sites where it would be available for free. At this time, I have yet to decide.
When will your book be available to buy?
The Kindle release date will be on August 10th or 12th. It depends on my formatter, but around that time.
Will this be your first published work?
I self-published one book before, The Case of Irene Adler, but long since took it down. It was unedited and unbeta-read and probably full of mistakes. I'm so glad I have some amazing betas to help me get the editing done.
Do you have any plans for future projects that you'd like to share with us?
The project itself is a secret.... I'm still debating between two. I won't tell you what they're about, but I'll give you the titles: A Writer's Dream and Rose . Which do you think sounds more interesting, by the title alone?
Some concluding words
Thank you so much, Madeline, for taking the time to do this interview. I wish you the best of luck in your writing career, and can't wait for the release of your book. I hope that it will be only the first of many to come.
If you are interested in hearing more from Madeline about this and other projects, you can follow her on Twitter for the latest news and updates.
Remember that you can also follow me on Twitter for information about this blog and other projects I've got up my sleeve.
No comments:
Post a Comment